OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the federal government to stop the upcoming carbon and alcohol tax hikes, reverse the politician pay raises and protect homeowners from new taxes as members of Parliament return to the House of Commons today.

“Taxpayers’ wallets are getting lighter, but MPs’ paycheques are getting fatter,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of the CTF. “Many Canadians took pay cuts, lost their jobs or businesses and can’t afford to pay more taxes to Ottawa.”

The CTF is calling on all MPs to act on three taxpayer priorities:

1) Stop the upcoming tax hikes

The federal carbon tax has increased twice during the pandemic and is scheduled to increase again to 11 cents per litre of gasoline on April 1, 2022. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he will increase the carbon tax to nearly 40 cents per litre of gas by 2030 and impose a second carbon tax through fuel regulations that could add an additional 11 cents per litre.

Alcohol taxes will also increase for the third time during the pandemic on April 1, 2022. Taxes already account for about half of the price of beer, 65 per cent of the price of wine and more than three quarters of the price of spirits.

Canadian workers making more than $64,900 will see their payroll tax bills increase by $396 this year. 

2) Stop the MP pay raise

MPs are scheduled to take another pay raise on April 1, 2022. 

MPs have already taken two pay raises during the pandemic, ranging from an extra $6,900 for backbench MPs to an additional $13,800 for the prime minister. The CTF has identified 30 jurisdictions where politicians took a pay cut at some point during the pandemic. Ottawa stopped the MP pay raises between 2010 and 2013 in response to the 2008-09 recession.

3) Protect Canadians from new home taxes

The CTF is calling on the federal government to prove it will not impose a home equity tax by removing the requirement to report the sale of principal residences with the Canada Revenue Agency. 

Under some proposed home equity tax schemes, a family who bought their Toronto home for $250,000 in 1980 and sold it for $1.2 million today could pay between $51,750 and $190,000 in home equity taxes.

“Both the Liberals and Conservatives say they won’t tax our homes, but they need to prove it by removing the requirement to tell bureaucrats how much we sold our home for,” said Terrazzano. “A home equity tax would mean a lot of pain for many Canadians who rely on the sale of their home to save for their golden years or upgrade to their first family home.”